Best PlacesWestchester, Catonsville, MD Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in and around Westchester, Catonsville, scored on 40 measures of daily life and ranked to fit what matters to you. Local pay runs high here, and housing takes the biggest bite out of it. To work out which city fits you best, start with the best places to live tool.
Westchester, Catonsville ranks 1,211th of 5,983 U.S. neighborhoods on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on a stable housing market by a wide margin, and state infrastructure ranks lowest.
The best neighborhoods in Westchester, Catonsville
BestNeighborhood is the only ranking that scores 40 measures of daily life neighborhood by neighborhood and lets you re-weight every one of them yourself.
Westchester, Catonsville's strengths and weaknesses
Where Westchester, Catonsville ranks high
- Housing crash safetyBetter than 99% of neighborhoods
- Tree shadeBetter than 98% of neighborhoods
- Low vacancyBetter than 97% of neighborhoods
- Cost of living vs incomeBetter than 94% of neighborhoods
- Voter turnoutBetter than 92% of neighborhoods
Where Westchester, Catonsville ranks low
- State infrastructureBetter than only 3% of neighborhoods
- Low income/sales/gas taxBetter than only 5% of neighborhoods
- Internet speedBetter than only 11% of neighborhoods
- Cell coverageBetter than only 11% of neighborhoods
- State fiscal healthBetter than only 12% of neighborhoods
What it costs to buy a home in Westchester, Catonsville
A household needs to earn about $113,000 a year to comfortably buy the median Westchester, Catonsville home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $131,786, so a typical household can afford the median home outright.
Where the monthly payment goes
Assumes a 20% down payment, a 6.6% 30-year fixed rate, and a 28% share of income going to the payment. The rate is the 2026-07-23 30-year fixed average, series MORTGAGE30US from the St. Louis Fed, which publishes Freddie Mac's weekly survey. Against the median home value, property tax uses Westchester, Catonsville's effective rate of 1.05%, and insurance is estimated at 0.4% of home value a year.
Renting versus buying
At today's prices, buying tends to cost more than renting for about the first 10 years, then pulls ahead as rent keeps rising and the mortgage builds equity. The chart tracks the running cost of each.
Who lives in Westchester, Catonsville
Westchester, Catonsville runs older than the country, and households here run smaller than average.
Residents by age
Racial and ethnic makeup has its own map. See the race and diversity map for Westchester, Catonsville.
Who works in Westchester, Catonsville, and how
Work in Westchester, Catonsville centers on education and professional & technical. Unemployment is close to the national rate, and employment has held roughly flat.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 73%
- Work from home 22%
- Transit, walk, or bike 5%
Life in Westchester, Catonsville
Westchester, Catonsville has more restaurants and bars per resident than 91% of neighborhoods and more parkland per resident than 96% of neighborhoods. The coast is about 20 minutes away. Dining, parks, and nightlife concentrates in some parts of Westchester, Catonsville and thins out in others, which the map shows.
What the weather is like in Westchester, Catonsville, month by month
Westchester, Catonsville sees roughly 88 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 91 degrees. January highs sit near 45, with lows near 33. The comfortable stretch runs April, May, September, and October.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 45° | 39° | 33° |
| April | 68° | 59° | 51° |
| July | 91° | 83° | 76° |
| October | 71° | 63° | 56° |
Flying in and out of Westchester, Catonsville
Baltimore/Washington International Thurgood Marshall sits about 9 miles away. It is a large hub and boarded 12.3 million passengers in 2025, with 114 nonstop destinations.
The best schools in and around Westchester, Catonsville
Schools across Westchester, Catonsville average a B−, better than 58% of neighborhoods.
Top elementary schools
- Westchester ElementaryB · 47% proficient
- Woodbridge ElementaryC− · 27% proficient
Top middle schools
- Catonsville MiddleC+ · 35% proficient
- Southwest AcademyD · 23% proficient
Top high schools
- Catonsville HighC+ · 38% proficient
- Woodlawn HighD− · 15% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every Westchester, Catonsville school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
Westchester, Catonsville measure by measure
Cards are ordered by how much each measure matters to you, so the ones you weighted highest come first. Expand to see every measure. Percentages compare Westchester, Catonsville against the other 5,982 neighborhoods.
Common questions about living in Westchester, Catonsville
Is Westchester, Catonsville a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, Westchester, Catonsville ranks 1,211th of 5,983 neighborhoods. It scores highest on a stable housing market, tree cover, and few empty homes, and lowest on state infrastructure and taxes. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is Westchester, Catonsville expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $416,316. The overall cost of living runs about 5% below the national average. Set against a $131,786 median income, cost of living beats 94% of neighborhoods.
Is Westchester, Catonsville safe?
Yes, Westchester, Catonsville is safer than 63% of neighborhoods. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $367 per resident a year.
Compare Westchester, Catonsville with other neighborhoods
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to Westchester, Catonsville. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in Westchester, Catonsville represents the same real quantity as a 60 anywhere else, and the ranking is a weighted average of those absolutes. The map colors come from a national scale calibrated against a population weighted random sample of 5,000 neighborhoods. That absolute scoring is what no other places-to-live ranking does: it puts a single neighborhood, a town, a metro, and a state on one scale, so the same 40 measures answer both which metro to move to and which street inside it to buy on. Read the full methodology.
Westchester, Catonsville detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for Westchester, Catonsville: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in Westchester, Catonsville: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of Westchester, Catonsville: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in Westchester, Catonsville: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
Westchester, Catonsville detail on related sites:
- CrimeGrade: neighborhood crime rates behind the crime safety score.
- ISPreports.org: provider by provider internet availability and advertised speeds.
- CoverageWatch: the car insurance premiums behind the cheap car insurance score.
Federal and public data:
- U.S. Census Bureau American Community Survey: income, home value, rent, vacancy, commute time and mode, educational attainment, home age, age structure, household type, industry, and race.
- NOAA Global Surface Summary of the Day: the daily station record behind the monthly temperatures and the pleasant-day count.
- FAA Passenger Boarding Data: airport size and annual passenger counts.
- Freddie Mac Primary Mortgage Market Survey: the 30-year fixed rate used in the cost-to-buy estimate.
- FBI Crime Data Explorer: reported offenses behind the tangible crime cost estimate.
- U.S. EPA Air Quality System: five year average air quality index.
- FEMA National Risk Index: expected annual loss from natural hazards.
- CDC PLACES: disease burden, preventable risk, and barriers to care.
- National Center for Education Statistics: school enrollment and assessment inputs behind the school grade.
- FCC National Broadband Map: internet and wireless availability.
- U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics: employment and job growth behind the local economy score.
- Religious activity uses a proprietary religious signal measurement.
Your priorities
Move a slider to say how much a measure matters. Zero turns it off.